Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan State Spartans Betting Odds, Football Pick

Michigan State pulled one of the great shockers in college football last season, upsetting Ohio State in Columbus with its backup quarterback. That Spartans victory made the visiting team 6-2 straight up and 7-1 against the spread over the last eight meetings in this series. Those trends bode well for the Buckeyes heading into Saturday afternoon's game in East Lansing.

Point spread: The Buckeyes opened as 23.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 49.2-16.8 Buckeyes (College football picks on every game)

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes can cover the spread

OSU just won its second consecutive game by the identical score of 62-3. Two weeks ago the Buckeyes did it to Nebraska, covering as 17-point favorites, and last week they did it to Maryland, covering 28 points.

Ohio State took a 7-0 lead on the Terrapins less than four minutes into the game on the first of three Curtis Samuel touchdowns on the day, led 21-3 after one quarter and 45-3 at the half, on its way to another easy victory. On the day the Buckeyes outgained Maryland 581-176, getting 253 yards on the ground and 328 through the air.

At 6-1 in conference play, Ohio State is tied with Michigan and Penn State atop the East Division. The Buckeyes get the Wolverines at the Horseshoe in the season finale next week.

Why the Michigan State Spartans can cover the spread

The Spartans finally broke through last week, stopping a seven-game losing slide with a 49-0 rout of Rutgers. Michigan State pounced out to a 21-0 lead 10 minutes into the game and never let the Knights get a sniff after that, cruising to an easy cover as a 17-point favorite.

MSU outgained Rutgers 440-149, outrushed the Knights 277-109 and won time of possession by a 36/24 margin. The Spartans have now outrushed each of their last four opponents and seven of 10 foes on the season.

Michigan State is also 2-0 ATS this season as an underdog and an amazing 15-3-1 ATS its last 19 times out getting points.

Smart pick

Ohio State is rolling toward its showdown with the Wolverines, while Michigan State, even with last week's win, is a bit of a mess. Also, the last time the Spartans were big home dogs at sports betting sites, three weeks ago against Michigan, they may have covered, but they got thoroughly outplayed and trailed by 20 at one point. As long as the Buckeyes concentrate on this week, and not next, they should take care of business here.

Betting trends

The visiting team is 7-0 ATS in its last seven games in this matchup.

Michigan State is 1-7 SU and 2-6 ATS in its last eight games.

Ohio State is 17-1 SU in its last 18 games in November.

All college football betting lines and point spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.